Image of Gilgamesh obtained from wikipedia
One of the projects I’ve lately been working on has involved doing research into the Mesopotamian mythos of Ishtar and Gilgamesh. I’m currently reading the Penguin Version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. I’m not just reading the myths, but also the notes and information that the translator has shared because it can be equally valuable in terms of informing the translation but also the work around finding this information. The history is often quite fascinating and provides valuable context. I’m doing all this research because I want to create magical workings around this mythos, but even though I already have a general knowledge of the mythos, I find it useful to do a deep dive to establish a strong foundation from which to build magical workings off of.
I’ve taken this same approaching with developing pop culture magic workings. If I want to work with a given pop culture mythology, I spend a fair amount of time learning about the pop culture, both from the source materials, but also from the surrounding content that speaks to and about the source material. By doing this research I develop a better understanding of what I’m working with and I can start to find specific correspondences that can be used to work with the given mythos that I’m wanting to work in.
These correspondences are particularly helpful with establishing contact with the spirits of the mythos because the correspondences align to the identity of the spirit and can be used to call them. Whether you’re working with a mythology over 3000 years or a pop culture mythology that was recently created, this principle holds true because of how those correspondences provide specific keys to connect with the spirit you want to work with. When we use correspondences, they serve as an excellent initial method of contact because they provide the context for both the human side and spirit side of the equation.
When I research mythology, I’m not just reading the story (or watching the media). I’m carefully looking at the symbolism involved and comparing what I see in each myth to other myths that are part of the overall mythos. By doing this I form a comprehensive picture of the mythology (or as much as is possible). I’ll start noting the relevant details and where connections seem to be made. From there I’ll start working with the spirit, integrating the relevant symbolism into my magical work. At the same time I recognize that what I’m doing is interpetative. I’m basing it off the available data I have as well as the work with the spirit, but everything I am doing is filtered through my modern perspective, and this will play a role in the experience I have.
In my experience, to truly create magical workings or magical systems, there is a level of scholarship and foundational knowledge that is needed, along with the experiences that must be paired with the research in order to create anything viable. While I talk about experimentation quite a lot, all of my experimentation is grounded in research and experiences, which makes the difference in developing something that is realistic and honors the source material versus just arbitrarily coming up with something that may not work and is sloppily executed because time hasn’t been taken to learn from the source material.
